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The Redsword Rebellion
The Reign of Castarn III King Castarn III Draga inherited the throne in 168 AAWE at the age of 31. His Father Castarn II was the great great great grandson of Adrian I and ruled over a dwindling realm. On inheritance many of old Silvermere's colonies split from new Draga, creating much unrest in the still Loyal provinces. The leader of this restless faction was Adenn Draga, a cousin of the King and another direct descendant of Adrian I. Castarn tried to keep the 'Purist' faction under Adenn happy while also trying to encourage intermingling with new Kingdoms in the North, a hard task at best. There were many small fights that broke out between the open faction and the Purist faction that resulted in much injury but very few deaths, leading to the belief that it would all blow over soon. On the exact minute before the year 200 AAWE Adenn Draga killed Castarn in cold blood and his rebellion began, with his nephew Caranor Draga riding to all of Adenn's brothers and supporters to tell them war had come. The Beginning of the War Once all the Nobles of the kingdom including the entirety of the Draga family knew of the war they all chose sides, with unsurprisingly Adenn Redswords closest family joining him and Castarn IV's closest family joining him. The Open faction, now renamed the Kingsmen, held the city and the palace, quickly putting down any Purists within the city though Adenn Redsword managed to escape. Many of the Southern holdings joined the Purist faction and started massing there men up in old Hadrin town (around were New Blackstone is) however they had considerably fewer men then they hoped. The Kingsmen, lead by the King himself Castarn IV, left the city with a small garrison and began marching to the Rebel keep eager to end the war quickly. Adenn and his supporters were not fools however, they knew that they could not win an open battle and so fortified the town even more, cutting down much of the forest around them to create new barricades and traps. When the Kingsmen arrived in Early Spring they found a bleak sight, the land around the castle was muddy and barren without the trees to hold it together against the rain that had been pouring for days at this point. They set up camp just on the edge of the forest and prepared for the siege to come. The population of Hadrin had been evacuated to other nearby villages also freeing up stone and supplies from various houses for the limited defenders. Two weeks into the siege the defenders had constructed battering rams and siege towers, ready for an assault. Some may think an assault foolish in such conditions however the rain had persisted and that combined with the cold would soon make it to diseases spread among the attackers, something they could not risk at this vital point. The assault began at dawn with the attackers outnumbering the defenders around 2/1 and having generally better equipment, however first they had to go through the thick mud and while they were doing that the defenders unleashed volley after volley upon the slow heavily armoured Kingsmen. Around a quarter of the invading army had died upon reaching the walls and now the melee began, however the Purists had a secret weapon... Ardurian, later nicknamed Brightflame, Draga was an ex-Priest having left the order, which you're not allowed to do, to join his Brother's rebellion. He used his fire magic to burn the attacking siege towers through the wind and rain to beat back the enemy army. That along with the failed melee on the walls caused the Kingsmen to break. This was a perfect opportunity for Adenn and his knights, they charged out laying down a makeshift drawbridge made some weeks before the siege, allowing them to pursue the Kingsmen into the woods. In this dismal setting King Caranor IV was cut down by Adenn's riders and the first battle of the war ended in Purist victory. The Reign of Castarn V 200-204 AAWE With this Victory the Kingsmen were shattered and many more rallied to the Purist's cause. Newly crowned King Castarn V (they were renamed upon inheritance) was not a warrior and instead would of preferred to just govern Draga and bring it into a new Golden Age. However he never got the chance. The newly inflated rebel army marched upon the lands just South of the capital, taking the spoils of the land for themselves. Any castles or holdings fell easily as all but the capital and lands further west and north of Hadrin. Castarn tried to bring his army together, forcing men from the Northern lands to the city along with sending messengers to the West for a combined attack. This action took around 3 years with many being killed on the way to the East and several minor revolts from the commoners being conscripted. By 203 AAWE the Northern Army was ready and the Western Lords had pledged their allegiance after holding off many Purist attacks lead by Adenn Redsword himself. Castarn thought it was the perfect time to strike and lead his Army out of the city, trying to march straight to Hadrin where he thought the Western lords would meet with him. However he, not being a proper general, did not take into account the fact that the army was held down by Adenn, though his younger brother Casten Draga tried to warn him. When news of his sally was heard Adrian 'Laughing Dragon' led a fraction of his brother's army to fight the King and his men. They met at the river of Trecon (the river between modern Blackstone and the city of Draga) in winter and there, upon a bridge in the snow, the battle was fought. Adrian held his men behind the bridge and river, upon the flatland whereas Castarn's were right up against the bank. Castarn at first ordered his men to cross however Adrian charged down with his knights, forcing the Kingsmen back. Castarn then held his men upon his side of the river, thinking about what to do next. Then the wind changed, blowing northwards towards the King and his followers. Adrian ordered his longbowmen to open fire, the wind carrying the arrows further than usual and many Kingsmen were slain. When the king ordered a return volley the arrows were not carried and therefore fell short. After many volleys from each side, and many dead Kingsmen, Castarn V ordered his archers forward. It was still in vain and even more died. Whenever the Purists ran out of arrows they simply stepped forward and took up the enemies failed shots. Eventually Castarn ordered his men to do a full assault across the bridge. Adrian, seeing that it had started snowing again, did not charge his Knights as he took it as a sign that Suvion was watching and that many were about to die. And simply, he did not want it to be his side. The Longbowmen retreated behind the infantry lines and the two sides prepared for battle, Adrian dismounting and joining his men on foot. The fighting lasted for hours, though eventually the Purist forces were pushed back. As they were numerically inferior even if more experienced. Eventually, after many had died in the snow, horns were heard from the West. The Kingsmen thought it was the Western Lords, finally arrived, and the Purists thought it was reinforcements from Lord Adenn. When their banners were finally in sight it could be seen that they were the Western Lords, arrived to turn the day! That is until they charged into the backs of the Kingsmen, throwing down their western banners and revealing they were Purists lead by Caranor Draga, son of Ardurian 'Brightflame'. The Kingsmen held on for just over an hour however with many of them forced to turn and fight Caranor, Adrian 'Laughing Dragon' charged through the lines laughing as he slew his enemies, eventually coming upon the standard of Castarn V and slaying him in combat. With this the Kingsmen broke, running desperately north back to the city. However it was snowy and they had a freezing river to cross. As men piled to get over the bridge Caranor and Adrian along with their knights charged down the fleeing Kingsmen, slaughtering thousands as the men had been told to give no mercy, nor did they want to after the long battle. Those that were not cut down were drowned trying to flee through the river. So many are said to of died that the river ran 'Red with Blood' and that the 'Kingsmen fled upon bridges of corpses'. Contemporary sources say that 20,000-40,000 Kingsmen were killed, though this Is probably exaggerated. Nonetheless it was a great victory and would decide the fate of much of the Southern and Western lands of Draga for years to come. All noble, lords and knights on the Kingsmen side were captured or killed with the only purist casualty being Caranor Draga who was crushed under his horse who slipped upon the snow. He was later nicknamed 'Saddle-sore' as he had rode all around Draga to spread the news 4 years before and now he was killed by the very horse he had used.